Multiple post-translational modifications implied in the gene expression regulation: example of the sumoylation of Ets factors

To regulate the spatiotemporal expression of their target genes, the transcription factors undergo post-translational modifications of which the most studied is phosphorylation. Acetylation and ubiquitinylation on lysine residues also exert a role in the transcription, as it is the case for the regulation of the activity of the huge family of Ets transcription factors. Recently, sumoylation, a post-translational modification similar to ubiquitinylation, was described as playing a crucial role in the inhibition of the activity of these factors.